Bitcoin is a speculative product,” warns the Bank of France

The governor of that central bank warns that its value has no economic basis

Advise those who invest in bitcoins that they do it “at your own risk”

The electronic currency fell by 20% this Thursday, just after marking its record of change

Bitcoin is a speculative and extremely volatile product that lacks an economic base. This is what the Governor of the Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, has said, who has warned that the people who invest in it do so assuming a high risk .

“We must be clear: bitcoin is not, in any way, a currency , nor is it a cryptocurrency,” Villeroy said during a conference in Beijing. As stressed by the head of the French central bank, the value and extreme volatility of bitcoin “has no economic basis and are not under the responsibility of anyone .”

For these reasons, Villeroy reminded those who invest in it that they do it “entirely at their own risk “.

A bubble that can burst

The electronic currency has marked this week its record of quotation when changing to 11.395 dollars the past Wednesday, what supposes an increase of 40% in November and multiplying by more than ten the price that it had at the beginning of year .

This has led analysts to warn that a bubble is forming that may burst at any time.

In fact, immediately after that maximum, bitcoin experienced a day of intense volatility this Thursday, when it lost 20% of its value. Finally, the session closed at 9,600 dollars, with a drop of 4%.

Coinciding with the sharp rise in the price of this virtual currency, the number of its users has also shot up . One of the largest providers of bitcoin in the world, Blockchain.info, said that last Wednesday there were more than 100,000 new users , a record that brings the total number to more than 19 million .